Cue tip



May 5, 1925. 1,536,652

G. A. BRQCKWAY QUE TIP Filed Jan. 20, 19121.4

Patented May i 5, 1925.

. UNITED STA resv GEORGE A. BROCKWAY, OF ST. PAULQMINNESOTA.

CUE TIP.

Application filed. January 20, 1921. Serial No. 438,787.

To all wil/0m 'it may concern:

:Be 1t known that I, Gnonsn A. BRooKwAY, a citizen of the Dominion of Canada, resid-l ing at St. Paul, in thecounty of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, haveinvented certain new and.useful.Improvements in Cue Tips, of which the following is a specification. This invention relates to cue tips for use in propelling billiard balls and the like,` the `principal object of my invention, being ,the provision of an improved cue tip construction. whereby I effectuate the long desired result of preventing the-tip proper, frombecoming separated due tothe severe blows it receives) from rits associated parts, usuall employed inthe construction of thisclass of devices. f

A. further object of my invention,`is to provide, in a device of the class described, a

i certain uniformity ofl proportion of interi bling thereof.

fitting parts, whereby to` facilitate assem- AA still further object of the invention is to provide -an improved, simple, and efl'ective means for firmly holding the tip positioned against rotary, as well as longitudinal x v .A designates movement with respect to the body of the cue, said holding means Lincluding` provision, whereby the tip proper, may be easily removed and positioned anew in a diderent circumferential position relative to the `body `of the cue. y

`In the 'accompanying drawings forming part` of this specification:

Figure 1 is a side view of the upper portion of a billiard cue.

, Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of Figure 1. i

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional` view taken at right angles to` Figure 2.`

`,Figure 4: is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing the connecting member asit appears when driven home.

Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the connecting member.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the upper ortion `of the connecting member, showing 1t as it appears before it is driven into the holding position. y

Figure? is a plan view of the ferrule, and

Figure 8 is a plan view of the washer.

the body of the cue, and B a reduced part thereof of uniform diameter to form a d owel. C designates the ferrule having a bore 1, adapted to frictionally receive the dowel B of the cue, so that when the ferrule is driven thereover, the outer diameter of the ferrule and cue will present awsmooth flush surface.` Centrally, in longi tudinal alignment `with the bore 1, is the rectangular opening/1, that shown being of equal sides so as to form square. Seated on the upper fiat end ofthe ferrule is thefiber washer 3, said washer being comparatively thin and preferably made of vulcanized liber or other tough material. Centrally, in alignment with the openingQ and the bore 1, the washer is formed with an oblong rectangular opening, adapted to receive the prongs 4 of the connecting member D, when said prongs are positioned as shown in Figure 6 of the drawings. The connecting member D, is formed of a strap of metal, cut to a width so as to slidably fit widthwise into the opening 2, and lie flatly against any of the walls thereof. The strap is bent' upon itself, to form an oblong loop 5, having fiat outer parallel sides 6, said sides being` bent inwardly so as to bring the upper ends forming the prongs Ll, flatly` against each other. The upper free ends of the prongs, are beveled inwardly toward each other to form inclined surfaces 7. The edges of the metal strap are formed near the upper end of the' prongs, with acutely angled shoulders or spurs 8, `after the manner of the spurs of a fish hook, the edges of the strap being inclined upwardly and inwardly thereby giving the prongs the ap-` pearance of arrow heads. The fiber washer, is formed centrally with a central flat bottomed recess 9,.adapted to receive the washer 10, the latter also-,having a central rectangular opening 11, coinciding with the opening in the `fiber washer. Thus, the washer-10 maybe inserted in the recess 9, so as to `be flush with thetop surface of the fiber washer. The washer 10, is preferably made of soft metal such as brass or` the like. Secured to the top of the washer and covering its entire upper surface, is the cue tip proper 12, preferably made of leather or other fibrous material. The tip proper, is suitably secured to the fiber washer as` by glue or other means to form a permanent joint therebetween thereby forming what may be termed a tip madel of two sections, the liberwasher constituting a base.

Referring again to Figure` 5 of the drawi or spring to the loop to permit the latter to be crowded under stress into the opening 2, by force, so as to frictionally hold it therein. Obviously, the loop may be inserted in the opening 2 of the ferrule, in any one of two positions, as 4the opening 2 is square in cross section. The tip and its Washer 3 may be removably attached to the top of the cue in the following manner. The connecting member is first driven into the tip formed by the fiber Washer and the leather member 12. This is accomplished by a special machine, so thatthe loop 5 projects from the under surface of the fiber Washer 3. The tips are placed upon the market in this form. They are secured to the fer-rule by disposing` the rounded end ot the loop 5 into theopening 2, and gently driving the tip downwardly from above.

`In themachine the prongs are driven into the body of the leather, the inclined faces 'Y thereof causing them to divergingly separate laterally as they enter the leather'. The inclined sides 14 of the spurs 8, having pushed thefibers of the leather out of the Way in their travel, and the latter then having permitted-said fibers to a degree, to assume their normal positions back of the spurs 8, theprongs are now firmly anchored in the fibrousbody of the leather.

'In the UnitedStates Patent No. 1,307,922, June 24:, 1919, assigned in part to me, the prongs were not provided with the spurs S, asin the present invention. lt has been found, that the constant pounding on the end of the tip proper, causes the prongs, in the absence of the spurs 8, to backl out ot the leather and thereby split the Washer 3 diametrically through its rectangular opening, 4causing the tip proper to become loosened `from the end of the cue. By constructing the prongs as shown, I have found that the connecting memberdoes not back out f the leather and thereby effectively prevents splitting of the Washer 3.

Tol 'furtherlsae-guard the splitting olf' the `Washer 3, I 'have added the Washer 10, Wherebythe outivardly'tlaring under sides 15 of the prongs Will be engaged lby the edges of'tlie opening 11J thereby preventing said flaring sides from Wedging the Washer asunder. As the fiber Washer is quite thin, the metal Washer must be made of very thin metal to prevent the recess from cutting through, the thin metal easily tearing at the corners of the opening 11 so that the washer alone cannot always be relied upon. To replace the tip,the latter may be gripped bodily with pliers and pulled out of the socket 2 in the 'errule, and replaced with another. li', hoivever, a. tip for some reason becomes loosened it may bevithdrawn in the manner just described, when the/sides Got its loops 5 will spring outwardly'to a degree approaching its normal position`r or, in other words will Widen a trifle as it is removed 'trom'the socket. lt mai/fno7 be turned a quarter turn, sovt-hatrthe Walls 6 thereof Will engage two new faces in the opening 2. and be firmly 'frictionally held endivise When driven home. As the'walls, of the squared opening 2'originally are more or less rough, (the Jr'errule ybeing usually made of fiber pyrolin or other similar material) the new sides engaged by the resetting of the cue tip,` grip aneuv the sides (i of the connecting member, so that it xifillfpr'actically constitute a new connection. The capability' ot doing this extends the life of the cue tip. In the`patent` above mentioned, the loop was Wider than it was thick, so that when the cue tip 'Was once Worn loose, a new tip proper had to beprovided.

l claim:

A cue tip comprising a tei-rule secured upon the end of a cue, a tip member disposed upon the outer end of said ferrule, 'a spring member extending from said tipmember and friction'ally /en'gageable Within the Ilerrule recess, thetransverse edge eX- tremities or the ends o'f the spring member being beveled inwardly to`v'a,r(l"each other whereby the ends Will extend diver'geiitly when driven into the tip member, ea'ch'idiverging end of said spring member being formedlwitlr a spearllike head having a pair otlateral sharpl spurs directed divergently toward the terruleand undercut.

In testimony Whereot I aiiix mysignature.

GEORGE BROCKWTAY. 

